Chapter Two: Secrets Revealed (Ride for Mordor)
The next morning, Legolas visited the sisters in their room. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Anoria opened it, wearing a long nightrobe, and she cried out in delight. 'Look, sisters! The Prince Legolas has come to see us!' 'O Anoria, who is too beautiful to surely be mortal, I wish I could come with better news. I intend to ride today for Mordor.' 'Why?' 'I must fulfil my oath.' 'What oath?' Anoria cried fearfully. 'I swore an oath on my mother's grave that I would destroy Sauron or die in the attempt.' 'No! You must not go! It is not your destiny!' 'What would you know of destiny?' Legolas asked bitterly. 'What would you know of duty? You cannot even recall your past!' 'I would know of duty and destiny better than anyone, O Legolas, for I am ruled by it to destroy Sauron, and my sisters with me! If you do not want the wrath of three Valar to come down on you, you will dismiss this idea at once!' Suddenly Anoria clapped her hands over her mouth. 'Oh no, oh no. You did not hear that, promise me you did not hear it…' 'No, I will not promise until you tell me what I have suspected these past six days.' 'Only if you promise not to tell anyone.' 'I, Legolas son of Thranduil, Prince of Mirkwood and Ithilien, swear to you, Anoria the Fair, daughter of Elbereth, Princess of the Sun, not to tell a soul your secret unless you reveal it first.' Legolas made a cut in his palm. 'And I, Anoria daughter of Varda, Princess of the Sun, accept this oath made by Legolas son of Thranduil, Prince of Mirkwood and Ithilien.' Legolas sat down. 'Okay. So we are the daughters of Varda. I am sure you have worked out the rest. We ride for Mordor on the morrow.' 'You must not go alone!' cried Legolas, agitated. 'What if you should be waylaid? I could not live with myself if you had to face danger alone!' 'Fine then!' shouted Anoria, becoming frustrated by his mad desire to protect her. 'You can come with me! Legolas, I appoint you Guardian of the Sun!'
Legolas' eyes went wide. 'Y-you have chosen me, O Anoria?' 'I have,' replied Anoria, calm now, 'and my sisters shall choose their own guardians. Now go, and if I hear one peep about you intending to ride to Mordor alone, you shall go to Mandos at once!' 'Y-yes, O Anoria.' But as Legolas went to open the door, he found Elladan and Elrohir outside, ready to knock! 'Legolas?' 'Elladan? Elrohir?' 'We just came to rescue you from the clutches of the daughters of Elbereth!' 'You knew?' gasped Elennia. 'Of course. We are the sons of Elrond. How could we not? Do not fret, dear ones,' added Elrohir, 'for we have not told anyone.' 'Thank the heavens!' Anoria saw Ithilia eyeing Elladan carefully, and Elennia giving Elrohir the same treatment. 'You are warrior elves, are you not?' 'Yes…' 'Would you like to do a deed of great honour? For though Anoria has appointed Legolas to be her Guardian of the Sun, we still need guardians for our journey. I, Ithilia, appoint you, Elladan, Guardian of the Moon.' 'And I, Elennia, appoint you, Elrohir, Guardian of the Stars. We ride at dawn, we shall meet you outside our rooms. We will robe you, in the gear of our Guardians.'
That evening, the six elves met in Aragorn's chamber. 'Well, what request would three elf-warriors and three of my best students have of me?' 'Well, my lord, for one thing, we are not human. We are the Daughters of Varda. I am sorry to have deceived you, but secrecy was necessary until we found the guardians.' 'So you intend to ride?' 'We do, and we have come to ask you and Elrond to release Elladan and Elrohir for a few days while we ride for Mordor. We wish to take Legolas with us too.' 'Ah, very well,' sighed Elrond. 'Thankyou, my lords, for granting this to us. You shall not regret it. The Valar bless you till the end of your days.'
The next morning, the three warriors went to the sisters' room, and received there their official garb as the Guardians of the Daughters of Varda. The maidens were already clad, and they were a splendid sight. All three wore a long, loose white robe. Over this they wore coats of mithril mail, and over that a hauberk of white leather with a diamond-studded silver belt. They wore white shoes, and were clad with swords, bows, arrows, and knives. All wore long white cloaks. Each outfit, however, had a special difference for each lady. Anoria's hauberk was broidered with a golden sun, and bound across her brows was a golden coronet. Her cloak was pinned with a golden leaf, traced upon with a silver five-pointed star: the insignia of Ithilien. Ithilia's hauberk was broidered with a shining silver crescent moon, and she wore a silver coronet. Her cloak was pinned with a silver six-pointed star: the symbol of Imladris, and the High King of the Elves. Elennia's hauberk was broidered with a bright silver five-pointed star, and she wore a white diamond coronet. Her cloak was pinned with the symbol of Elrond as well.
The warriors, when fully clad, were a royal sight. They wore white silk garments, with a coat of mithril mail and a white leather hauberk. They too wore the diamond-studded silver belt, and the long white cloak and shoes. They too were armed with swords, bows, arrows and knives. But their insignias were broidered on their breast, not on a large scale. Legolas bore the golden leaf with the silver five-pointed star on his breast, and his cloak was pinned with a golden sun. He bore upon his right arm an armband of gold wound about with emerald leaves: the symbol of his rank in Mirkwood. Upon his head sat the crown of Ithilien: a silver carved band about an inch wide, with the leaf symbol on the front and a smaller version on the back. The sons of Elrond both bore the silver six-pointed star upon their breasts, and Elladan's cloak was pinned with a silver moon while Elrohir's with a silver five-pointed star. Both wore a silver coronet with a white star across their brows.
As they stood at the front of the school while Elrohir fetched the horses, those who were there came and watched and were dumbfounded. For there stood three ladies of immense beauty, and next to them stood two fair elven-warriors. And even as they watched, another fair warrior led three shining white horses with silver manes and tails to them. 'Ah!' cried Anoria, running forwards, 'Anar my beautiful stallion, and here is Isil the stallion of Ithilia, and Ele the stallion of Elennia.' The three warriors boosted the ladies onto their horses, then mounted in front of them. 'What,' laughed Ithilia, 'must we allow these warriors to handle our beloved stallions?' 'We cannot overtax you, my lady,' replied Elladan solemnly. 'Take care, Legolas, good friend,' cried Frodo, 'for the lands of Mordor have many dangers, and the poisons of Sauron are not chemical alone.' 'And don't let him ruin my taters!' Laughter rang out from the elves, then with cries of 'Noro lim, noro lim!' they sprang away.